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﻿Officials eye why DNA samples weren't entered into database

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Delaware officials are investigating why 1,600 criminal DNA samples, some more than a decade old, languished for years without being entered into a national database.

The Department of Safety and Homeland Security, which oversees the Division of Forensic Science, says the investigation began this week.

But a member of the Commission of Forensic Science, which oversees the division, called for an independent review, noting that the mistake was kept secret for years.

A worker found the samples in 2014, just after the newly created division assumed responsibility for the state medical examiner's office following an evidence-tampering scandal.

The News Journal of Wilmington reports that the samples included that of convicted sex offender Kili Mayfield, who was charged this year with three rapes, two occurring while his DNA sample sat untested.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A blue-ribbon panel calling for a sizeable increase in Maryland public school funding over the next 10 years still must decide what portions would be paid by the state and by local governments.